Table Of ContentCONTENTS Foreword by Lance Armstrong ix Prologue: "We Might as Well Win" 1 Part I: What I Learned from Winning 1 Follow Your Heart -- But Bring Along Your Head 13 2 It Starts with Belief 26 3 Leave Some Dents 37 4 Do Whatever It Takes to Communicate 48 5 To Earn Confi dence, Confi de 54 6 Bluff When You're Weak -- And When You're Strong 64 7 Lose a Little to Win a Lot 78 8 Recruit Too Much Talent 84 9 Trust People -- Not Products 95 Part II: What I Learned from Losing 10 "Lucky to Stare So Boldly at Loss" 109 11 When Failure Is Inevitable, Limit the Damage 118 12 Find a Victory in Every Loss 127 13 If You're Breathing, You Still Have a Chance to Win 136 14 Build the Foundation of Victory During Defeat 147 Part III: Putting It All Together 15 "It Was My Dream" 161 16 Everything but Winning Is a Distraction 178 17 Winning Leads to Winning 197 Appendix: Johan Bruyneel's Cycling Career 207 Acknowledgments 215 Index 217
SynopsisOn the tour and inside the mind of Johan Bruyneel, the winningest team leader in cycling history and the mastermind behind the success of the world's most celebrated champion, Lance Armstrong Johan Bruyneel knows what it takes to win. In 1998, this calculating Belgian and former professional cyclist looked a struggling rider and cancer survivor in the eye and said, "Look, if we're going to ride the Tour, we might as well win." In that powerful phrase a dynasty was born. With Bruyneel as his team director, Lance Armstrong seized a record seven straight Tour de France victories. In the meantime, Bruyneel innovated the sport of cycling and went on to prove he could win without his superstar -- in 2007 he took the Tour de France title with a young new team and a lot of nerve, sealing his place in sports history forever. We Might as Well Win takes readers behind the scenes of this amazing nine-year journey through the Alps and the Pyrenees, revealing a radical recipe for winning that readers can adapt from the bike to the boardroom to life. We witness Bruyneel's near-death crash and comeback as a rider. We are privy to the many ways he and Armstrong outsmarted their opponents. We listen in on the team's race radios to hear the secret strategies that inspire greatness from a disparate team. We learn how to make sure "not winning" isn't the same as "losing" as Bruyneel struggles to prove himself -- post-Armstrong -- with new riders, new strategies, and skeptics around every corner. Whether mounting a difficult climb, or managing a team of thirty riders and forty support staff from a miniature car hurtling along narrow European roads, or looking a future legend in the eye and willing him to believe, Bruyneel is, and has always been, the consummate winner. Readers will relish this inside tour., On the tour and inside the mind of Johan Bruyneel, the winningest team leader in cycling history and the mastermind behind the success of the world's most celebrated champion, Lance Armstrong Johan Bruyneel knows what it takes to win. In 1998, this calculating Belgian and former professional cyclist looked a struggling rider and cancer survivor in the eye and said, "Look, if we're going to ride the Tour, we might as well win." In that powerful phrase a dynasty was born. With Bruyneel as his team director, Lance Armstrong seized a record seven straight Tour de France victories. In the meantime, Bruyneel innovated the sport of cycling and went on to prove he couldwin without his superstar -- in 2007 he took the Tour de France title with a young new team and a lot of nerve, sealing his place in sports history forever. We Might as Well Win takes readers behind the scenes of this amazing nine-year journey through the Alps and the Pyrenees, revealing a radical recipe for winning that readers can adapt from the bike to the boardroom to life. We witness Bruyneel's near-death crash and comeback as a rider. We are privy to the many ways he and Armstrong outsmarted their opponents. We listen in on the team's race radios to hear the secret strategies that inspire greatness from a disparate team. Welearn how to make sure "not winning" isn't the same as "losing" as Bruyneel struggles to prove himself -- post-Armstrong -- with new riders, new strategies, and skeptics around every corner. Whether mounting a difficult climb, or managing a team of thirty riders and forty support staff from a miniature car hurtling along narrow European roads, or looking a future legend in the eye and willing him to believe, Bruyneel is, and has always been, the consummate winner. Readers will relish this inside tour., For the first time, go behind the scenes and inside the mind of Johan Bruyneel, the most successful team director in cycling history and the strategist, confidant, motivator, and coach behind Lance Armstrong's amazing success., On the tour and inside the mind of Johan Bruyneel, the winningest team leader in cycling history and the mastermind behind the success of the world's most celebrated champion, Lance Armstrong Johan Bruyneel knows what it takes to win. In 1998, this calculating Belgian and former professional cyclist looked a struggling rider and cancer survivor in the eye and said, "Look, if we're going to ride the Tour, we might as well win." In that powerful phrase a dynasty was born. With Bruyneel as his team director, Lance Armstrong seized a record seven straight Tour de France victories. In the meantime, Bruyneel innovated the sport of cycling and went on to prove he could win without his superstar -- in 2007 he took the Tour de France title with a young new team and a lot of nerve, sealing his place in sports history forever. We Might as Well Win takes readers behind the scenes of this amazing nine-year journey through the Alps and the Pyrenees, revealing a radical recipe for winning that readers can adapt from the bike to the boardroom to life. We witness Bruyneel's near-death crash and comeback as a rider. We are privy to the many ways he and Armstrong outsmarted their opponents. We listen in on the team's race radios to hear the secret strategies that inspire greatness from a disparate team. We learn how to make sure not winning isn't the same as losing as Bruyneel struggles to prove himself -- post-Armstrong -- with new riders, new strategies, and skeptics around every corner. Whether mounting a difficult climb, or managing a team of thirty riders and forty support staff from a miniature car hurtling along narrow European roads, or looking a future legend in the eye and willing him to believe, Bruyneel is, and has always been, the consummate winner. Readers will relish this inside tour.